New Year’s Package

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The Palmer Bar

The Palmer Bar at Glenlo Abbey, situated just off the Ffrench Room offers guests a quiet retreat with views overlooking the terrace and 18th Century Abbey.

The Palmer Bar is so called after the Palmer Family who purchased Glenlo Abbey in 1897.

Enjoy a pre-dinner drink or choose from our Champagne selection. Take a seat by the bar and choose from our extensive cocktail list of cocktails, whilst enjoying a cocktail demonstration. Pre - booking is necessary.

Whiskey Tastings

We Offer Whiskey Tasting, where our in house whiskey connoisseur will take you on a journey through the history of whiskey in Ireland and sample some of Irelands top whiskeys. Pre-booking is necessary.

The Palmer Family

They were wealthy land owners operating flour and maize mills in Galway city at the time. Milling in Galway city was a major industry with up to 30 mills operating by the mid-19th century - providing employment to hundreds of people. The Palmers also ran a brewery called “The Nuns’ Island Brewery”, named after its location next to the Poor Clare Convent. - And they branded their “T Palmer’s Superior Porter” as “equal to Dublin”.

The Palmer family had sold much of their land to support their milling business and lost their fortune. The family then focused their attention on farming the estate at Glenlo.

Jeffrey Palmer, the second generation of Palmers to live at Glenlo, fought in the first World War. After returning from the battle field, he married one of Ireland’s first commercial models, Evelyn McNamara from Limerick. Evelyn was famed for her beauty and was the main model for Palmolive shampoo.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Jeffrey and Evelyn Palmer opened their home to paying guests and were able to maintain the estate. Many distinguished guests stayed at Glenlo during this time including judges from Dublin working at the Galway courthouse.

Trevor Wardell, grandson of Jeffrey Palmer, was the last of the family to live at Glenlo Abbey, had a dairy and organic farm.

However, the costs of running the estate and maintaining the old house were escalating and this attributed to them deciding to sell Glenlo Abbey, which they did in 1984.